


Trusting the Water

by Tedronai



Category: Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Genre: Canonical Pseudo-Incest, F/F, Fluff, Post-AMoL, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 08:10:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8883427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tedronai/pseuds/Tedronai
Summary: Aviendha can no longer run. But perhaps swimming will be an acceptable alternative.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Eirenne Saijima (ladypoetess)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladypoetess/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide~!

Elayne had looked forward to the trip to the countryside, away from the politics of the court in Caemlyn, for most of the winter and spring but now that she was there, at one of the more remote estates of House Trakand, she wasn’t quite sure what to do with all the time suddenly in her hands. Rest and relaxation was the whole point of the scheduled two-week break, catching up on some much needed sleep and letting the children — both her twins and Aviendha’s four — play with more freedom than was possible in Caemlyn, but though sleeping in was nice, there was only so much lying about reading romance novels that her mind could take before idleness began to grate on her nerves.

By the end of the first week, Aviendha’s presence was the only thing keeping her from Travelling straight back to Caemlyn. She felt more than ready to get back to work, but looking at Aviendha and seeing how much more at ease her sister-wife was here, away from the court, made her reconsider. Aviendha would follow her back to Caemlyn; no talk of letting the children have their extended vacation could sway her mind, especially when a part of her saw leaving in the first place almost as giving up. Sheer stubborn pride kept her from hiding in her quarters or using Travelling as her main method of getting around, but Elayne could tell that she didn’t like people looking at her when she walked about the Palace with her cane. Here, there were not as many people to see her, and those that did knew better than to gawk at the Aiel whose feet had been ruined in the Last Battle.

Lounging in a cushioned garden chair on the verge of dozing off, watching the children splashing in the shallows of the small lake, her mind idly mulling over the topic of Aviendha… Elayne could feel an idea beginning to take shape. And when it did, she was suddenly wide awake. She sat up straight so quickly that the book on her lap fell to the ground.

“What is it, sister?” Aviendha, likewise lounging in a chair nearby, asked.

Elayne took her hand and looked at the other woman, trying to contain her excitement. Just because she thought her idea was amazing, it didn’t mean that Aviendha was going to agree. “Aviendha… How would you feel about learning to swim?”

Green eyes widened in surprise and Elayne could see that her first instinct was to reject the offer out of hand. However, the past few years had changed Aviendha in more ways than her ability to walk. “To swim?” she said, hesitant but cautiously curious. “Why do you ask?”

“Swimming is…” Elayne tried to find the right words to express her idea without offending her sister. “It’s like running but in water. It doesn’t require you to put weight on your feet, but swimming fast and long distances requires strength and endurance, just like running.”

Aviendha frowned. “So… because I can’t run anymore…” she began, but before Elayne could say anything, she shook her head, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “No, Elayne, the fact is I can’t. And I don’t know if this swimming—” she didn’t stumble over the word at all “—is anything like running to an Aiel, but I am glad you thought of it.” She drew a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “I’ll try it. Do we do it here? In the lake?”

Elayne smiled, relief and joy flooding her along with an overwhelming love for her sister. She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, in the lake. I was thinking we could come back in the evening, once the children are sleeping. Or, would you prefer to go while the sun is up?”

Aviendha didn’t need to consider the question. “Let’s do it in the evening.”

 

* * *

 

The late summer nights were warm enough for a swim, Elayne figured as she made her way to the lake later that evening. She was carrying a basket with a bottle of wine and some bread and cheese, as well as two towels and a blanket. Aviendha walked at her side, slow but determined, and nobody looking at her would have known that each step caused her pain. She was Aiel; she would have accepted twice the pain to have her speed back, but as that wasn’t an option, she bore her fate more gracefully than Elayne thought she could have if their roles had been reversed.

Elayne spread the blanket on the beach and then, on a whim, channelled to bring over the cushions from the garden chairs as well. Then she stripped down to her shift — only to see that Aviendha had removed her shift as well.

“You don’t swim with your clothes on, right?” Aviendha said, all wide-eyed innocence that almost had Elayne fooled for a second.  
Elayne shook her head slowly with a smile. “Right you are.”

They made their way to the water slowly, Elayne’s arm around Aviendha’s waist. She waited patiently as Aviendha got used to the feel of the water as they waded deeper into the lake; sitting in a bath tub was no longer an overwhelming experience for the Aiel but the lake was a completely different thing, bigger and more alive. There was no fear in the emotions reflected over the sister-bond, but deep awe and wonder, and Elayne felt so lucky to be sharing this moment with Aviendha.

Once they were waist-deep in the water, Elayne stopped. “Right. There’s no point walking further.” She looked at Aviendha and flashed a slightly nervous grin. “Now we just… swim.”

Aviendha gave her a skeptical look. “What, just… swim?” She waved her arms in a fair approximation of swimming motions. “Like that?”

“Pretty much,” Elayne replied. “But the real secret to swimming is to just…”

“What?” Aviendha asked. She’d spread her arms wide, trailing her hands in a circle on the water’s surface, watching the small waves with an intense fascination. “What’s the secret, Elayne?”

“To trust the water.” Elayne sank slowly so that only her head remained above the water, and watched as Aviendha followed suit. The look on the other woman’s face was slightly bewildered as she let the water take more and more of her weight, and when Elayne turned to float on her back, bringing her feet almost to the surface, Aviendha copied her movements.

Finding that the water did indeed carry all of her made the Aiel laugh out loud with delight. “This is, oh, Elayne! This is wonderful!”

Elayne laughed as well. “Isn’t it?” She turned again and began to swim, not deeper into the lake but parallel to the shore, slowly, waiting for Aviendha to get the hang of it as well. Once she did, it was no great surprise that Aviendha swam as fast as Elayne right away. For a while they didn’t speak, and the only sounds were the water and their breathing. “So,” Elayne said after a while, slightly out of breath. “How does it compare to running?”

Aviendha didn’t answer at once, and when she did, her voice was thoughtful. “It’s good,” she said. “Swimming is good.” She stopped and reached out to touch Elayne’s hand. “Thank you.”

Elayne smiled. “I’m glad.” Then, “Shall we head back to the beach? We can come back in the daytime, but I think we shouldn’t overdo it at once. It’s been a while since I last did this and I’m getting a little tired.” That was not a lie, though she suspected that Aviendha knew she was thinking more of her than herself. That was fine; there was no embarrassment over such things between first-sisters.

“Yes, that’s a good idea,” Aviendha said.

 

They got back to the beach and sat on the blanket, wrapped in their towels, and watched the water in the lake go still again. Elayne poured wine and Aviendha carved generous slices of the cheese with her dagger, though Elayne had included a cheese knife in the basket as well. Elayne didn’t say anything; she knew Aviendha was ignoring the little silver knife on purpose, not to be obnoxious but simply because the dagger could be used for the task.

Elayne picked up a slice of cheese and nibbled on it, leaning back against the cushions with a contented sigh. “It would be terribly improper to just sleep here, you know,” she said.

“Probably,” Aviendha replied. “You know your Andoran culture better than I so I’ll take your word for it.”

“Yes.” Elayne turned to her side, looking at her sister-wife. Green eyes looked back, and she knew they were thinking the same thing. “What a shame that I’m the Queen and nobody can tell me I can’t do this if I want to.”

Aviendha smirked and flipped her dagger elaborately. “If anyone tries…”

Elayne almost protested that she couldn’t go threatening her staff with a dagger, but then realised that the other woman was joking. “Alright,” Elayne said. “If anyone tries, we’ll deal with them. I do wish we’d brought more blankets…”

“We have the towels, don’t we?” Aviendha pointed out. “We can channel them dry. And besides, we can keep each other warm.” She did so, channelling to dry the towels and to move the food basket to the side, then patted the space beside her. “I will keep you warm, Elayne.”

Elayne didn’t quite blush. She moved over, letting Aviendha arrange the cushions and towels around them. She didn’t care about all that, truth be told; she was more than content with Aviendha’s arm comfortably around her waist, holding her close. The wine and the preceding exercise had made her pleasantly drowsy; she was drifting off to sleep almost as soon as she’d settled properly, and as she did, the last words she heard were, “Good night, shade of my heart.”


End file.
